Phonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway English

The starting point of this research is the hypothesis that Irish might have an influence on Irish English at the intonational level. Three types of sentences (declaratives, WH-Questions and Yes-No Questions) are studied based on the PAC-Galway corpus: 33 speakers from two locations, Galway and Gaelt...

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Main Authors: Airelle Théveniaut, Sophie Herment
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires du Midi 2023-07-01
Series:Anglophonia
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/5255
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author Airelle Théveniaut
Sophie Herment
author_facet Airelle Théveniaut
Sophie Herment
author_sort Airelle Théveniaut
collection DOAJ
description The starting point of this research is the hypothesis that Irish might have an influence on Irish English at the intonational level. Three types of sentences (declaratives, WH-Questions and Yes-No Questions) are studied based on the PAC-Galway corpus: 33 speakers from two locations, Galway and Gaeltachtaí (Irish-speaking areas), and with a varying use of Irish. Three recurrent contours emerge of the data: H*L % (simple fall), H* L% (late fall) and L* % (low static tone), all three belonging to the category of falls. However, the three contours are distributed among the three types of sentences, this finding raising the issue of the phonetic or phonological status of these contours. The variables of location and use of Irish were therefore tested, but the hypothesis of the influence of Irish on English intonation was not confirmed. Gender and age were then taken into consideration, showing that the latter parameter seems to have an influence on the realisation of the various falling patterns, and arguing for the phonetic status of these contours.
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institution Kabale University
issn 1278-3331
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publisher Presses Universitaires du Midi
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spelling doaj-art-407df73d24e14fd5aad3c0b7f53fa55f2025-01-30T12:33:10ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiAnglophonia1278-33312427-04662023-07-013510.4000/11qbdPhonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway EnglishAirelle ThéveniautSophie HermentThe starting point of this research is the hypothesis that Irish might have an influence on Irish English at the intonational level. Three types of sentences (declaratives, WH-Questions and Yes-No Questions) are studied based on the PAC-Galway corpus: 33 speakers from two locations, Galway and Gaeltachtaí (Irish-speaking areas), and with a varying use of Irish. Three recurrent contours emerge of the data: H*L % (simple fall), H* L% (late fall) and L* % (low static tone), all three belonging to the category of falls. However, the three contours are distributed among the three types of sentences, this finding raising the issue of the phonetic or phonological status of these contours. The variables of location and use of Irish were therefore tested, but the hypothesis of the influence of Irish on English intonation was not confirmed. Gender and age were then taken into consideration, showing that the latter parameter seems to have an influence on the realisation of the various falling patterns, and arguing for the phonetic status of these contours.https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/5255SociolinguisticsIrish EnglishGaeltachtProsodic contoursPhonetics-Phonology interface
spellingShingle Airelle Théveniaut
Sophie Herment
Phonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway English
Anglophonia
Sociolinguistics
Irish English
Gaeltacht
Prosodic contours
Phonetics-Phonology interface
title Phonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway English
title_full Phonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway English
title_fullStr Phonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway English
title_full_unstemmed Phonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway English
title_short Phonetics or phonology? The case of falling contours in County Galway English
title_sort phonetics or phonology the case of falling contours in county galway english
topic Sociolinguistics
Irish English
Gaeltacht
Prosodic contours
Phonetics-Phonology interface
url https://journals.openedition.org/anglophonia/5255
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